Typically, snowmobiles have two front skis connected to a handlebar and a rear endless track connected to an engine to propel the snowmobile. In such typical snowmobiles, the snowmobile is steered by turning the handlebar in the direction in which the driver wants to turn. This is known as steer-in-direction. During a turn, the suspension assembly connected to the ski on the outside of the turn is compressed, causing the snowmobile to roll slightly toward the outside of the turn, which the driver can compensate by leaning toward the inside of the turn.
In other vehicles, such as motorcycles, the vehicle is steered by what is known as countersteering. In a motorcycle for example, the motorcycle turns by leaning in the direction of the turn. To achieve this leaning, the driver momentarily turns the handlebar in the direction opposite to the direction of the turn (i.e. the driver countersteers).
Driving a vehicle that can lean into a turn offers a much different driving experience than driving a vehicle that is steer-in-direction. It would be desirable to at least some drivers to have the driving experience of a leaning vehicle on a vehicle having three ground engaging members such as a snowmobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,148 B1, issued Jan. 19, 2010, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,419 B2, issued May 12, 2009, describe three-wheel vehicles that can lean in a turn. In vehicles of this type, the frame of the vehicle is pivotally connected to a shock tower (also known as a transfer frame) and the front shock absorbers associated with the two front wheels are connected at their upper end to the shock tower. During a turn, the frame pivots into the turn like on a motorcycle, but the shock tower remains essentially vertical. As a result, the front shock absorbers do not get compressed due to the leaning of the frame.
Although leaning the frame of a vehicle having three ground engaging members during a turn compensates for the tendency of the vehicle roll slightly toward the outside of the turn, it may not completely compensate for this tendency. As such, even with the leaning of the frame, during a turn the weight on the front ground engaging member disposed on the inside of the turn is reduced.
As such, there is a need for a system for compensating the weight reduction on the front ground engaging member disposed on an inside of a turn during the turn for a leaning vehicle having at least three ground engaging members with the frame of the vehicle being pivotable relative to a shock tower of such a vehicle.